It would be amiss to glaze over the utter confusion that fell upon many as the announcement of the fourth installment of Camden’s Rock Allegiance lineup was revealed. Sure, heavy on the nu-metal, plenty of the current up and comers, but right in the middle of the ad mat sits one that raised more than a few eyebrows. Insane Clown Posse. Admittedly, I laughed and sent out a few snarky text messages in response to it all. ICP? With their “whoop whoops” and their Faygo at a rock and metal festival? Either utter insanity on Danny Wimmer‘s part, or pure genius… there was some investigating to be done before drawing any conclusions.

Perhaps it was fate, but somehow through the Metal Nexus community, there lay an answer to every question, even ones unknown. Oddly enough, these words of wisdom came from a dude in a bikini. Mankini, as he is called. Mankini resides in Maryland and he is a world class Juggalo. That last sentence is not facetious whatsoever. Mankini was featured in a BBC documentary, “The World’s Most Extreme Festivals: The Gathering of the Juggalos.” He takes the apprehensive British host around the Gathering, telling tales, debunking myths and setting a really positive tone to a people who are often stereotyped for delinquency and debauchery. What people would quickly learn, is that these people are just simply putting themselves out there for the world to see. Many people and we mean MANY, will always partake in delinquency and debauchery of sorts, whether that be enjoying voyeurism, skinny-dipping, or even looking for partners through Nudist Dating sites or similar. The only difference is how these different people approach how open and public they are to others regarding their personal activities.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Mankini about his introduction to the fam-uh-ly, experience with the Gathering and other festivals and he even reveals his favorite kind of Faygo. This exclusive interview is only here on Metal Nexus, please enjoy.

METAL NEXUS: The BBC documentary about The World’s Most Extreme Festivals that focused on The Gathering put you front and center as a voice and personal tour guide for Juggalos. Which we have to add you spend the entirety of the festival in a bikini, thus your moniker “Mankini”… How has it been placed in an almost ambassador role for the Juggalo community?

MANKINI: Aww man, that’s a crazy one. I always look back on that and think, “What is life? Did that really happen?” And it did, it really happened and in my honest opinion, it was truly amazing, not only for me, but Juggalos as a whole.

It’s funny you bring up “ambassador” when talking about Mankini. This all started on accident during a beer pong tournament at the Gathering, one year prior to the documentary. It was hilarious to me, and everyone else. But, it quickly became “my thing” because the Juggalos embraced it so hard, the bikini became a staple. So, when we talk about ambassador, I guess you could say the Juggalos did that, they let Mankini be, and wanted more of him, and they allowed Mankini to have a voice that’s constantly in the media talking about us. And, cameras of any sort seem to be rather fond of a guy in a bikini. Let’s not forget that I love my Juggalo family and do everything in my power to paint our community in a positive light, anytime I have the chance. Mankini exists because of the Juggalos, there wouldn’t be a Mankini otherwise, my sole duty is to continue spreading this Juggalo love whenever possible.

MN: What has been the best and worst things you have endured in regards to your normal festival attire aka the bikini?

MANKINI: The best? I’ve been pulled on stage, I’ve had some of my favorite musicians pull ME ASIDE and take a photo with me…. that’s completely surreal. Worst? Man, I don’t even want to go in to details, but being a half black dude, in a bikini does not always draw the kindest comments. I’ve had some HEAVY slurs thrown my way. And don’t get me wrong, 99% of the time, it’s nothing but positivity. But when that 1% hits, it hits hard with hate and ignorance. I ignore it, it’s what you’ve got to do.

MN: What drew you to the juggalo community? Was it just the music or was there more to it than that?

MANKINI: It was the music, initially. I remember in high school when a buddy of mine said, “you know what, I think you’d really like Insane Clown Posse.” I had no idea what he was talking about, it was completely foreign to me. So, I went to a friends house and got on Napster and downloaded a song he said I had to hear “Still Stabbin.” I highly recommend it to anyone who has never listened to ICP. But, I heard that song, and I was pulled in immediately, I can’t tell you what drew me to them from that song, but I know that’s upon first listen, I instantly wanted more. I went and picked up the only album I could find, The Great Milenko, which had already been out for more than a couple of years. That album changed me forever, it was the only thing I listened to for 3 months straight. Thus began my journey into all things ICP. It wouldn’t be until 11 years later that I made it to my first Gathering ever. And that’s when everything really hit me. I had been to shows before, met local Juggalos, and even friended a few online. But once I hit the Gathering, I found something I didn’t know I was missing. I found that hike away from, where all of my extended family had been meeting up all the years prior. But I’ll tell you, it all starts with that music, and I really can’t put my finger on what it was, but there was something that just called to me, and told me “you belong” and I never looked back. Man, I love my mother fucking Juggalo family!

MN: You are just returning from this years The Gathering of the Juggalos in Ohio which in addition to Juggalo acts also featured CKY, Butcher Babies, Attila, and Gwar. How do you feel this festival compares to festivals like Rock Allegiance?

MANKINI: I’ll say this in, in what I feel the realest answer is. The Gathering is the last of the truly independent, truly about freedom, most accepting music festival in the country.

Don’t get me wrong, I attend all kinds of festivals, and man do I love going to them! But they are not the Gathering. They don’t have the camping literally on the grounds of the festival, the Gathering doesn’t have $16 beers because you bring your own. The Gathering doesn’t charge you an arm and a leg for simple access to their festival. The Gathering kinda has no rules, kinda. There’s obviously rules, but they’re much more guidelines simply there for your safety and the safety of others. It’s one giant party that doesn’t stop for 4 days….literally. You think a guy in a bikini is fun, there’s people at the Gathering, and I mean more than 50 people, who just walk around naked all week, it’s freedom and it’s fun.

And I’m not knocking Rock Allegiance at all, but it’s a different beast, with a different audience. Juggalos will show up to Rock Allegiance for ICP. Metal heads won’t show up to the Gathering for Gwar, CKY, Butcher Babies, Sevendust, or even Cannibal Corpse. The Gathering is something special.

MN: From the documentary you were featured in we also heard about the “year of the butthole”, can you tell us about that? And what was it this year?

MANKINI: Hahahahahahahahaha! This is why Juggalos are so great. That wasn’t like the official theme of the year, that was all done online by Juggalos. It gained traction online in all the Juggalo forums, and took off for real as soon a as we hit the Gathering grounds. Actually, that was the 17th annual, the year of the butterfly, and there’s a whole story there, but I don’t think we have the time for that one. This years theme was Whoopstock, embracing the peace and love of the Juggalo community and spreading it like never before. We even had cover bands of actual Woodstock performers. There was a Hendrix Cover band, a Grateful Dead cover band, even a Santana cover band. It was really cool.

MN: ICP is slated to perform at this year’s Rock Allegiance festival on October 6th in Camden, New Jersey. How do you feel they fit in on a lineup that is predominantly rock or metal?

MANKINI: In actuality, ICP belong at that festival. I mean, ICP have got to be one of the few acts that can perform at rap or metal fest and still do damn good. Not to mention, ICP have been doing this for 30 years, these guys are well known, despite the hatred they get. I think they fit in perfectly! And, I assure you, there will be mosh pits.

MN: Metalheads and juggalos sometimes clash, what do you think some misconceptions are that keep them from being more friendly?

MANKINI: Well, I think the biggest one is, we can’t get along because our tastes in music are so far from each other, we never see eye to eye on anything. I can tell you firsthand, as being someone who loves both metal and rap, both sides are actually kinda similar. I’ve met plenty of Metalheads that are insanely accepting, of everything, and many of them even talk about their love of Juggalos. I also think that Juggalos are very weary of just letting metalheads into our community, while there may be some “things” you see from and around Juggalos, metalheads can carry a pretty bad reputation too. Honestly, I think we can all get along, if we just kinda talk it out first.

MN: When did you realize that ICP fans are more than just music fans?

MANKINI: Shit! After my first ICP show. I’ll never forget walking into this club in DC, with my buddy, and literally being welcomed by everybody in the room. The fact that I was at the show, made me their friend…er, family, and it was the coolest, most sincere feeling.

MN: As most of us know Faygo is the favored drink of Juggalos, what is your favorite faygo flavor? …… For people that are unaware can you explain what a Faygo Armageddon is and should we expect one at Rock Allegiance?

MANKINI: Favorite flavor? 60/40, it’s like a grapefruit lime soda, It’s fucking delicious. A Faygo Armageddon is the culmination of an ICP set. Throughout the entire they will throw and spray and Faygo, but during the last song it goes completely ape shit bonkers! In many cases, Juggalos bum rush the stage to throw the soda as well. We’re talking cases and cases of Faygo being sprayed and thrown rapidly, it’s like splash mountain on acid!

MN: You’ve been to plenty of metal festivals, what has been some of your favorites?

MANKINI: Rock On The Range is probably top of that list. And not just because Mankini is so insanely accepted and loved there, but because it feels like my Gathering before the Gathering, and I treat it as such. I’m actually hitting Louder Than Life for the first time ever, and I’m super stoked to be there! There is one that I really need to hit, and that’s Wacken Open Air, in Germany. Next year is their 30th anniversary of that festival and I really want to check it out….I wonder how they’ll take Mankini at a European metal fest???

MN: Other than the lineup and/or bands performing, what are some of the most important aspects of a festival to you?

MANKINI: Food offered. I’m a fat kid, I love food, good food at that. You bring the good eats, I’ll bring my feet’s. Vendors. If you have a bunch of insanely corporate vendors at your festival, I really don’t care what you’re about then, because you’ve made it clear you only care about money. I’m all about independent vendors, artists, young musicians, Fuck Cancer (I love that whole crew by the way).

MN: With the exception of ICP, who is your favorite band performing at Rock Allegiance?

MANKINI: I’ve got to give you two… Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach. I’ve always loved the both of those bands and have followed their careers for many years, and will continue to do so. They’re going to throw it the fuck down! And I can wait.

MN: As you well know Rock Allegiance is ran by Danny Wimmer Presents who promotes some of the largest and most revered festivals in the country. How important is it do you think that ICP is making its way onto the stage of a mainstream kind of festival?

MANKINI: I mean, these guys played Woodstock 99. They also go on nationwide tours every year, they even tour overseas and in Canada. I know that festival is critically panned for all the violence and everything else that went down there. But, it was one helluva festival when it happened. But, this is huge too, insanely huge. I’ve always said that DWP needs to start booking ICP on their festivals, these guys absolutely kill any stage they touch, and the set is always a crazy party. Hopefully we get more DWP/ICP from this.

MN: So for all the naysayers and metalheads out there that are totally against ICP performing at a rock or metal festival like Rock Allegiance, what is your pitch to them to check the band out when they perform?

MANKINI: Come, come see the greatest show you’ll ever see. It has clowns, freaks, zombies and weirdos. ICP will literally blow your mind with their set, and you won’t even know what to do afterwards. I promise, you’ll be pleasantly surprised, and definitely soaked in Faygo…so don’t forget to bring something to keep your phone safe. I challenge you all to step outside of your box, and try something different.

MN: Last but not least, have you chosen what bikini you will be wearing to this event yet?

MANKINI: Not yet….but there’s still time. It’ll definitely be sexy.

Aside from being an incredible sport and tremendously fun interview, Mankini made some remarks that really resonate. Namely, the community aspect of scenes. Whether one is a Juggalo, metalhead or a country fan, there should be an unsung honor within our respective scenes. Juggalos preach for “family.” There is no judgement, no hierarchy and really no reason to banish anyone. I have been attending metal shows for over a decade now, and whole heartedly admit my guilt in the following. There is a definite elitism that is very apparent in metal. It could be a “my taste is better than yours” or the thought that has crossed my own mind an embarrassing amount of times, “this is only your 5th show? Well, it’s my 17th.” In this thinking there is primal flaw. It doesn’t matter if one loves Norwegian black metal, 9 string prog or war history power metal. We are all playing on the same team. A victory for one is a victory for all. We all like heavy riffs, for god’s sake. The Juggalos don’t care if this is your first or your millionth Gathering, so why should we think less of someone for not being into metal long enough or liking more mainstream bands? If you’re at a metal show, you’re part of the crew.

Going into this interview, I struggled to believe that much substance would come from something that was seemingly very lighthearted and fun. But living with it for a bit and allowing these thoughts marinate, it ended up as a critical retrospective for my identity as a metalhead and the metal scene as a whole. With a new found respect for Juggalos and an agenda to be open, welcoming and positive. Shows are where we go to get away from work, school, relationship issues and anything else that sucks in life. Let’s just all enjoy a good beer, listening to some heavy shit and have a great time.

I will likely not be wearing clown makeup to Rock Allegiance, however, I will certainly take the time to check out Insane Clown Posse’s set. If you STILL haven’t purchased your tickets yet, it’s not too late, and you can do so right here. The festival is right around the corner and yes, Mankini WILL be making an appearance. Details for his meet and greet to come.